Baby chick won't eat

[Stephine]

I am having a similar problem. I received 7 baby chicks today. Six chicks are drinking and eating well. The smallest chick is not eating or drinking no matter what I do. I have started them on the sugar water from the get go. What to do?

How long has it been? Sometimes a chick just needs to rest for a little bit and warm up after shipping. Recommendations are the same as above. Good luck!

 

[Stephine]

Thanks everyone for the advice. She ended up dying this morning

I am sorry!
Unfortunately, if we set them up right, baby them a bit and give them some extra boost like save-a-chick or nutri drench and they still don't do better, we have run out of options. These chicks have either gotten too stressed in transport or there was something not right with them to begin with and they wouldn't have lived even raised by a mama hen. Taking care of living beings is tough that way! Someone here said (to me, after I posted about my young hen just dropping dead without warning one day this spring): Where there's livestock, there's deadstock.

 

[3riverschick]

Those of you with the small needy chicks ,Nutri drench is a great product. http://www.nutridrench.com . the problem with these tiny birds is their GI tract is immature.
they need a nutritional supplement which doesn't need to be digested.
you can give them sugars and electrolytes but they still need to be digested. it's not about what you give the chick , it's about what the chick can absorb ...and that's nutri-drench. it main lines directly into the bloodstream.
measurable in 11 minutes with 99% utilization. 100% natural . it does not require digestion. I give my chicks Nutri drench when they hatch. one drop only by mouth . then put 1/2 teaspoon of drench in a quart water. do that for the first two weeks to get them off to a strong start . you don't need apple cider vinegar or other supplements. if you want too, it's helpful to give them a probiotic. Use Okios Triple Zero vanilla yogurt.
it's very pure for babies . put some in a small saucer and put it in the brooder. leave it for 10 minutes then remove it so it doesn't go bad underneath the lights.
Best success with your tiny chicks, Karen

 

[jeria]

A newbie at this. Tractor supply has nutra-drench. At my store I found it in with the livestock etc. meds. not near the chicken feed and supplies. Another BYC member recommended getting it to have in the water when my mail order chicks arrived. My 4 girls arrived on Friday from my pet chicken and unfortunately they resided at the post office all day until I got off work. They all attacked the food when I put them in their box. I stuck one's beak in the water and soon that one was drinking and the others slowly followed suit. They are all perky and doing fine, a little poop on a couple chicky butts so removed that and added the bowl of chick grit and some organic apple cider vinegar to the water just in case it is the pasty butt issue and not just stuck on the fluff.

 

[Stephine]

Those of you with the small needy chicks ,Nutri drench is a great product. http://www.nutridrench.com . the problem with these tiny birds is their GI tract is immature.
they need a nutritional supplement which doesn't need to be digested.
you can give them sugars and electrolytes but they still need to be digested. it's not about what you give the chick , it's about what the chick can absorb ...and that's nutri-drench. it main lines directly into the bloodstream.
measurable in 11 minutes with 99% utilization. 100% natural . it does not require digestion. I give my chicks Nutri drench when they hatch. one drop only by mouth . then put 1/2 teaspoon of drench in a quart water. do that for the first two weeks to get them off to a strong start . you don't need apple cider vinegar or other supplements. if you want too, it's helpful to give them a probiotic. Use Okios Triple Zero vanilla yogurt.
it's very pure for babies . put some in a small saucer and put it in the brooder. leave it for 10 minutes then remove it so it doesn't go bad underneath the lights.
Best success with your tiny chicks, Karen

I am sure that in some cases the glycol in nutri drench is a lifesaver, but it doesn't have to be. Sugar is very easily digested as well and reaches the bloodstream very quickly.
Glycol is not "all natural" at all - it is derived from fossil fuels.
So I would reserve it for a crisis situation and not give it to all normal chicks.

Also, I don't know why flavored yoghurts keep being recommended on BYC - just plain yoghurt, no gums, no flavors, etc. is much better.

 

[3riverschick]

Nutridrench is great for normal chicks.
As far as the propolene glycol goes it's a help not a hindrance
It gets the Drench directly into the bloodstream, bypassing the weak G.I. tract. Gets the energy to the animal faster. Propolene glycol isn't a problem ingredient. It is used in all kinds of " natural products. Also ok'd by FDA for Inclusion in foods and beverages. Even in artificial tears. It is not going to hurt the chicks. It is going to help them getting the energy to them faster. Plus, it is bringing with it much more than just sugar. Read the MSDS sheet at the Nutridrench website.
Just slamming it without knowledge helps no one.
Best,
Karen

 

[3riverschick]

Please do not lump all the "glycols" together. They have different chemical formulas and very different uses.
Thanks,
Karen

 

[Stephine]

Nutridrench is great for normal chicks.
As far as the propolene glycol goes it's a help not a hindrance
It gets the Drench directly into the bloodstream, bypassing the weak G.I. tract. Gets the energy to the animal faster. Propolene glycol isn't a problem ingredient. It is used in all kinds of " natural products. Also ok'd by FDA for Inclusion in foods and beverages. Even in artificial tears. It is not going to hurt the chicks. It is going to help them getting the energy to them faster. Plus, it is bringing with it much more than just sugar. Read the MSDS sheet at the Nutridrench website.
Just slamming it without knowledge helps no one.
Best,
Karen

Please do not lump all the "glycols" together. They have different chemical formulas and very different uses.
Thanks,
Karen

I am not lumping and I am not slamming and I am not without knowledge either. Saying Propylene glycol is "all natural" is completely wrong, it is synthesized and fossil fuels are the starting point. Nowhere did I say it would be bad for a chick, but a regular chick does not need it, and does fine with *actually* natural sugar if there's a need for extra energy, like after shipping. I myself advocate having nutri drench on hand for emergencies. Using it on every new chick is overkill in my opinion.